Presents a framework for interface design that provides people with flexible control over different views for an information space, particularly on the World Wide Web. The agileviews framework defines overviews, previews, reviews, peripheral views, and shared views that help people make decisions about where they should focus attention during…

Presents a framework for the design of information representations in terms of previews and overviews, to aid designers of digital library interfaces. Defines previews and overviews, as graphic or textual representations of information abstracted from primary information objects, analogous to bibliographic records and catalogs; and describes four…

As the Web becomes more popular, the interest in effective navigation is increasing. Menu design is becoming a critical issue of human computer interface design as the focus of computer applications moves from the computer as a machine to the human as a user. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three different Web menu…

Discusses the role of intelligent agents in facilitating the seeking and retrieval of information in Web-based library environments. Highlights include an overview of agents; current applications in library domains; an agent-based model for libraries; the design of interface agents; and implications for library policy and digital collections.…

Describes how user interfaces for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) web site evolved over a 5-year period along with the larger organizational interface and how this co-evolution has influenced the institution. Interviews with BLS staff and transaction log analysis are the foci of this study, as well as user information-seeking studies and user…

Results from user studies support the importance of genre and task in interface design and effectiveness of filtering of electronic news. Preliminary results from a study on effectiveness of predicting interesting Web pages based on the content of previously visited pages suggest a great similarity between reading electronic news and browsing the…

Describes a study of graduate students that examined how Web interfaces impact the quality or outcome of online searches, as well as the information seeking behavior of the searcher. Examines how two search interfaces work to noticeably increase or decrease the impact of the emotive aspects of search behavior. (LRW)

Discusses the implementation of a cartographic user interface to bibliographic and other information sub-spaces in astronomy. Presents a range of comparative assessments, in operational frameworks, of this approach to accessing and retrieving astronomical information. Discusses the particular role that such cartographic user interfaces can play in…

Describes a scalable system for searching heterogeneous multilingual collections on the World Wide Web. Details Searchable Database Markup Language (SearchDB-ML) for describing the characteristics of a search engine and its interface, and a protocol for requesting word translations between languages. (Author)

This study of undergraduates investigates how cognitive style, online database experience, and task type influence users' search behavior on the Web. Considers time spent, the number of nodes visited, search performance, navigational style, and ways to improve Web interfaces and Web user training programs. (Author/LRW)

This study tested two Web personal spiders (i.e., agents that take users' requests and perform real-time customized searches) based on best first-search and genetic-algorithm techniques. Both results were comparable and complementary, although the genetic algorithm obtained higher recall value. The Java-based interface was found to be necessary…

A study of nine different image maps from World Wide Web home pages was conducted to evaluate their effectiveness in information display and access, relative to visual, navigational, and practical characteristics. Nine independent viewers completed 20-question surveys on the image maps, in which they evaluated the characteristics of the maps on a…

This study examined the effects of the number of links and the granularity of nodes on undergraduate and graduate students' information searching, learning performance, and attitude toward hypermedia systems. Discusses the relationship between the number of links and cognitive overhead an/or disorientation as well as implications for Web-based…

The QuiltSpace Builder enables Microsoft's multimedia encyclopedia "Encarta" to "fit" into an established home or institutional learning environment so that "Encarta" can be used for productive research. Early observations of the difficulties encountered by Encarta users, coupled with a survey of presently available…

This bibliography on users' machine-assisted information seeking behavior was compiled by the American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS). Includes adoption of technology; digital library services; hypertext; interface design; models and theory; relevance; resource…